San Diego, 2006

PITCHING TO COMICS COMPANIES

I’ve been feeling it lately.  That I can’t seem to make any money, any issue I put out.  That it sure would be nice if I could get paid for doing comics.  Even if I get paid a dollar a page, I’d be, I’m guessing, $50 per page better off than my current efforts.  I decided I’m getting to know a number of editors, so I wanted to make a concerted effort to talk with editors this year, and see if anyone had any interest in what I was doing.

I really like Larry at AIT/Planet LAR.  Whenever I see him, he’s so fun, personable, and friendly, it feels like we’re ol’ friends. 

Matt Silady (helping to watch my booth this year, in case Elizbabeth went into labor) had told me that Larry had announced he would listen to pitches from the first sixteen people who signed up.   I told Larry how disappointed I was to hear I’d missed my chance to pitch to him.  And he gave me an “Aw, come on, already” gesture, and said I could pitch to him any time.  He walked me back to his booth, and said he would fit me on his schedule.  I hadn’t expected anything so formal.  I told him he knows the work I’m doing, and I wanted to see if he liked any of my characters enough to publish a more elaborate story.  He said, as much as he loved my stuff, he just didn’t think it fit with his company, with his readership.  I asked who he saw his readership as, and he said his readership is the couple who comes to the con with the fan, but who isn’t into comics themselves.  He sees his books as the comic books people read if they’re not into comics.

So at this point, I’m realizing he sees my stuff only as the Kirby-style monster stuff, and I walked him back to my table and pointed out all my other characters.  The Dr. DeBunko minis caught his eye, but he was saying it would need to be bulked up, page-wise.  I told him I had a couple Dr. DeBunko stories in mind that, in the format, would be hundreds of pages long.  That seemed to surprise him.  Before he left, I told him about my religious “Limbo Café” book, and he said it sounded good, and he’d like to see it.  Wa….HOO!  I pitched a book, and the publisher was interested enough that he wanted to see more!   Wish me luck, fans!

After that, I spoke with Fantagraphics (who had told me beforehand that they didn’t think my Doris Danger adventures were a good fit for Fantagraphics, but I just wanted to check in), Randy Stradley at Darkhorse and Dan Vado at Slave Labor (neither of whom I gave the impression they had any interest in what I was doing).  I dropped by the Drawn & Quarterly booth, and they recommended I send a package in.  That left Image, who I will go into further detail with in a moment.

EXCITING MOVIE OFFERS

Over the past years, at previous conventions, people have occasionally come up to me and said they’re from this or that movie studio (none of which I’ve ever heard of), and would I like to give them some free copies of my work for them to consider for a film.  And in the past, whenever people have done that, I’ve basically thought, “Beat it, you pricks.  You’re just out for a freebie, and we both know you have no interest in producing something by me.  I’m a starving self-publisher!  If you are who you say you are, why don’t you pay three goddamn dollars and write it off your expense account, you cheap hack.”

This may not be the appropriate way to ingratiate myself toward Hollywood and land a movie option, especially since Hollywood is looking so intently at comics these days.  I know half a dozen self-publishers who have optioned their stories.  Hollywood is looking!  But I’ve just felt, you know, if you really are interested, why don’t you at least flip through my goddamn book and say it looks interesting, you know?  Or better yet, tell me you’re familiar with my work and it looks promising.  Why don’t you ask me what my story’s about, and tell me if that’s the kind of movies your studio produces?  Then we can talk, and I’d see a sincerity, and an actual interest.  But no one ever really did that with me…until this year.

This year, I pitched “The Lump” to three people, and one wasn’t interested, and two were.  These were smaller, independent film companies.  And making my pitch made me think, Actually, the Lump would make a hell of a movie, in my opinion.  And if it weren’t Hollywood, that may be even better for it.  Because the story is too pseudo-intellectual, and the ending isn’t Hollywood.  And it got me all excited, thinking about it.  Thinking about unknown actors instead of big names.  Thinking about what a small budget it could be done with. 

I hadn’t thought about The Lump as a film since I first wrote it, years and years ago.  It made me remember the optimism and excitement of when I first began producing comics.  I assumed I would just create and work hard, and that would be enough to make me a success, and that’s all there would be to it.  But the exciting dreams of becoming a star and success and toast of Hollywood faded as I continued working hard and publishing and spending every spare cent I had to give, and still haven’t been able to see any such successes.  The dreams of a Wisnia Hollywood film had died and gone cold, long forgotten, replaced by debt and disappointment and emotional drain, giving so much and working so hard and getting so little in return.  Woe is me, woe…

But now here was real, genuine interest.  I was getting invigorated by the thought again.  I imagined all the scenes, all the dialogue playing out as a film.  Wouldn’t that be something.  I don’t want to get my hopes up too high, but it made me hopeful, and excited, again.

MEETING CARMINE INFANTINO

 

I was excited to see Carmine Infantino would be at the con again this year, and made a point to go find him in artists alley.  He was selling copies of his “Art of Carmine Infantino” book, with sketches in them.  He had maybe half a dozen books opened up with different characters sketched in each one, and I really liked the Flash sketch he did.  I saw this book had two Flash sketches in it, and realized that one of the pages was folded in half, and the extra sketch must be in exchange for the folded page.  I told him I’d really like one, but thought I was a few dollars short.  He said he would part for it for the money I had, if I took a book that he had already signed to someone.  He said he’d cross it out and re-sign it to me.  Fair enough, I thought, and told him my name.  It turned out, the name he had already signed in the book was “Chris.”  If that isn’t fate saying I should own the book, I don’t know what is! 

I handed him the money, but when he counted it, he said I was actually short ten or more dollars, and (I love this) told me I have to “cough up more dough.”  I ended up going back to my booth to get some cash, and paying the full amount for this book.  If that isn’t a sign of fate saying “screw you,” I don’t know what is!

I showed him my monster comic, and asked him about doing a pin-up.  Last time I had met him, I had the feeling he wanted me to beat it and never bother him again, but this year, he gave me the contact info of his manager.  What a change a professional product makes.  Yet again, a sample of an artist who is uninterested in my project, who becomes interested later, presumably (I like to think) because of the professionalism or quality.

I would love to get a pin-up from Carmine.  I think he’s quite legendary.

 

BRIAN BOLLAND

Brian Bolland was an immense treat to find appearing at the convention this year.  I pestered Brian periodically throughout the con.  He did remember me from the Bristol Con over a year earlier.  He told me he hadn’t been to San Diego for twenty-four years.  At one point, Brian let me sit behind the table with him and show him my Doris Danger treasury, and he flipped through it.  I was impressed that he kept saying he’d still like to do a monster pin-up, when he can find some time.  He was sweet and sincere.  I told him, as I’d mentioned in an email before, that his absolutely fantastic Judge Dredd’s were just getting reprinted in color in America during my formative years, and how important his work was to me growing up.  I reminded him he’d done a great giant monster cover on his Animal Man run.

I met his son, who was one of the most adorable kids I’ve ever seen.  It made it all the cuter to hear his accent.  I tried asking him if he read comics, and what artists he liked, but he was pretty shy about answers.  I asked if he liked his dad’s art, and he said he did.

I witnessed Brian having to put up with two moronic fans.  The first was when I was leaning down on the table so that I could hear Brian speaking with me, and so Brian could hear me in the crazy atmosphere of the con.  The moron was sitting there watching, and he lost his temper and shouted at me, “Could you please not lean on the table!”  At first I assumed this watcher-of-the-table was Brian’s manager or right-hand-man, and in charge of making sure Brian’s deft artistic hand didn’t get jarred while doing sketches, because he was sitting behind the table.  But then Brian told me it didn’t bother him if I leaned against the table, and he was fine.  Then the guy said he’s paying a lot of money for this pin-up, and wants to make sure it’s perfect.

Morons out there who pay a lot of money for sketches beware!  We are professionals!  This is what we do for a living!  Thanks for your concern and care, but we don’t need your help or direction to insure the quality of our artwork, which you purchased and will be ebaying the next day!

The second moron was the next day, and he brought stacks and stacks of junk for Brian to sign, and Brian just patiently, politely went through and signed each piece, one at a time.  This went on and on.  And judging by the quantities this gentleman brought with him, it was obvious these weren’t for his personal collection.  Meanwhile, I was waiting to get a couple quick signatures on a couple of my favorite, most personal Brian Bolland books, because they mean a lot to me, and Brian’s work has meant so much to me.

It was great to see him again, and I hope I didn’t bother him too much, trying to snap so many pictures of him, but I was having a really good time getting photos of all my idols this trip.  Brian Bolland would truly be one of the greats to get a pin-up from, in my opinion.

LOOKING FOR ONE ARTIST, AND FINDING ANOTHER

A couple years before, I’d stumbled onto Alex Maleev, doing sketches at the booth of the art dealer who represents him.  Alex had told me to speak with his rep about a pin-up, and so I did at the convention, and then I emailed later, and never received a reply.  The following year, I found the art dealer again, and was told Alex would not be attending the con.  I poked over yet again this year, and his rep told me that Alex was supposed to come, but that his wife was pregnant, and he didn’t make it after all.  That will be a nice ice-breaker, if he comes back next year, because we’ll both have become dads within a few weeks of each other, and both our kids will be a year old.

So when I was getting this info from the rep, he said, “but Esad Ribic is doing sketches this week.”  I didn’t know who he was, but when he pointed at some of his work and said, “Marvel cover artist, and artist on Loki,” then I knew.  I thought he would be pretty expensive, but I came back looking for him.  He had just left for a cigarette break, so I waited.  When he came back, it turns out he hadn’t left for a cigarette break yet, and he had come back to get his cigarettes, so I asked if I could walk out with him.  We stood outside the convention, and I told him what I wanted, and he agreed to do it.  He said his schedule was full, until the last day of the con.  He said to check back at five pm on that day. 

The next day, when I realized that the convention closed at five, I went and told him.  He said, “Well…then come back at 4:30.  Since it was the last day, I was scrambling around and running late, and a little nervous about getting the pin-up.  But when I got there, he was still working, and had actually finished mine.  He charged me very reasonably for a convention-style sketch.  I thought he drew one of the most sinister monsters anyone has given me so far.  He was so friendly, too.  When I asked him to take a photo with me, I loved how he put his arm around my neck and stuck his chest out.

 

MORE ADVENTURES WITH THE TIE HATER

When Jim Steranko saw us, he mentioned to Elizabeth that I’m the guy who emails him every six months to ask about a commission.  He did his usual round of insults about my tie, but significantly toned down.  I felt like either I was growing on him, or else I was just getting used to his personality and better understood that he’s just kidding around.  I wasn’t nearly as stressed as I’ve been around him in the past.

I asked if I could take my picture with him, and he wouldn’t let me.  The next day, I saw him take a picture with some bombshell-looking woman in a fancy dress and high heels.  Elizabeth called him on it, and teased him, “Jim, what gives?  You said you don’t let anyone take pictures with you, but we saw you with that woman.”  He knew he was caught, but just kind of shrugged the comment aside.

That night, after the convention had closed, I was just walking by his booth on my way back to mine.  I waved hello, and he pulled me aside and asked if I had a cell phone.  He got on the phone with I assume his wife or girlfriend, talked for a few minutes, and finally handed my phone back, told me he was eternally grateful, and bustled on to his next engagement, of which was clearly not invited to participate.

I went over to bug him some more the next day, and I watched someone ask if Jim would sign his book.  Jim said, “Yeah, okay,” then realized he wanted to conditionalize it.  “Well,” he said, “it depends on the book.”  The kid showed him the book he’d brought, and I think it was some kind of compilation or listing of great artists, which I assume mentioned Jim.  Jim kind of looked at the book to figure out what it was, and then he just told the kid he wouldn’t sign it, and then he ignored the kid, who kind of stood there for a minute, confused.  Like, is this a joke?  And he finally wandered off.  I guess Jim didn’t want to sign that book!

Jim and Elizabeth and I spoke a fair amount, here and there.  I think he’s finally warming to us.  We talked about how we live on the West Coast, and he mentioned he flies into San Francisco quite a bit.  He talked about meeting with Francis every now and then.  I can only assume he’s talking about the esteemed Mr. Coppola.  We told him that if he were ever in San Francisco, it’s only an hour or so away, and we would make the drive if he would meet us for dinner.  At the end of the con, Elizabeth asked if he was serious about letting us have dinner with him next time he’s in San Francisco, and he leaned up close to her and said, Yes!  That would be a hell of a night to have dinner with Steranko some time!

I had been pretty regularly bugging Ryan Sook over the last few years to see when he would be going to San Diego, and year after year, he’d say he just doesn’t go to that con, because it’s too expensive, and too far away.  He told me the only cons he goes to are Wondercon and the Supercon in Oakland.  Both of which are relatively “local” for him, in the grander scheme of things.

So imagine my surprise when I heard from a mutual friend that he was down this year!  On the first night, as so often happens at this immense convention, I was sitting at the booth, and I just happened to see him standing nearby.  I went running out to intercept him, and sure enough, it turns out that Adam Hughes, who he met at Supercon, was able to get him a booth in artist’s alley, sitting between Adam and Bernie Wrightson, in the same row as Tim Bradstreet.  Talk about getting set up in the power aisle!

I told him Elizabeth and I really wanted to spend some time with him, and he seemed up for it, and we decided to go get sushi one night.  He hadn’t really had much experience with sushi, but we knew a place that was decent in quality, but amazingly cheap for sushi.

At the end of the convention, he met me at my table, and we walked to the sushi restaurant together.  My wife was meeting us there with Matt Silady.  She told me the street cross-sections, and Ryan and I began heading the direction we thought it was.  Then Ryan figured out we were going the wrong way, and we headed back the four or five blocks we’d gotten off track.  Then Elizabeth called us back, and said she’d gotten the address wrong, and we headed back the four or five blocks we’d just come from.

We had plenty of opportunity to visit during all this walking.  He was talking about how he charges so little for his convention sketches, compared to what a lot of people were charging, but he just doesn’t feel comfortable charging more.  He said that sometimes, you do a sketch, and it just doesn’t turn out as good as you’d like it to, and he feels that the inexpensive amount he’s charging is fair, in case of eventualities such as this.  I asked him if he’d ever looked on ebay the day after the cons, and he said he knew exactly how much his sketches were selling for.  Just a year before, he wasn’t charging for them at all, so it was a big deal to him that he was charging the tiny amount he was charging, as it was.  We talked about how his name is worth a dollar amount now.  We talked about not underpaying himself for his talent.  Finally we discussed him maybe having a secret code-word for all his die-hard fans of many years bygone, and how if they use the code-word, he’ll charge them less, but he’ll have a regular charging amount that is more.  I don’t know what he’s going to decide to do.

I was telling him about my experiences with Steranko, and with Simon Bisley.  He said Mike Mignola had a fun Simon Bisley story, which I have to share.  Mike had never really talked to Simon much, but one night, got a call from him, at I think around eleven at night.  Mike has a kid, and is usually sound asleep by this time, but just happened to be up that particular night.  He said, Hello? 

On the other line, with his British accent: Mike? 

Yeah.

“This is Simon Bisley.”

An uncomfortable pause, as Mike is wondering why Simon is calling.

Simon: What time is it there?  (Mike lives in New York.  Simon lives in the UK.)

Mike: It’s 11 pm.

Simon: Well, okay.  Thanks.

And that was the phone call.

Good ‘ol Simon.

Later, I saw Mike Mignola, and said we should swap Simon Bisley stories.  Mike said, he didn’t have any, except that Simon called him in the middle of the night once, and asked what time it was.  I said to Mike, “Well, all right then,” because I was trying to mimic Simon’s response, but then Mike and I had an uncomfortable silence, as I suspect Mike thought I was telling him that this was the end of our conversation.

As we spent more time with Ryan that night for dinner, he kept slipping out interesting things that I never would have guessed about him.  We knew he was religious, but he said he was a pastor at his church.  He said he used to smoke when he was younger.  He used to work in construction, doing serious manual labor.  He used to be a drummer in a band, and opened up for Hole!  And he and his wife were high school sweethearts.  What an interesting guy.  We had a blast with him!  We told him we would love to come visit him at his home on the coast (he invited us way back at Supercon), and he again offered his warm invite.  If only we can find a way to make it the five hour drive, with a little one on the way.

FINDING GEOFFREY DARROW

 

I had heard Geoffrey Darrow had been at San Diego the year before, but a combination of not finding him and being too intimidated by him prevented me from approaching him.

As this year’s San Diego was getting closer, I had looked for a website or email of Geoffrey online, and after poking around a fair amount, found his mailing address.  It seemed like a long shot, as I haven’t had good luck sending artists cold packages.  But I sent him my Doris Danger book, and asked if he might be willing to do a giant monster pin-up.   A month before the convention, I received a phone call from him. 

I said, “Wow, this is an honor to get a phone call from you.”  He was self-deprecating.  “Why?” he said.  He was real friendly, but seemed a little cautious.  He said he might be willing to do something for me, but it would depend on payment and schedule.  I told him there’s no hurry, and I’d like to pay him based on what he thought his time was worth.  I offered an amount, and he asked if that’s what I paid a particular one of my other pin-up contributors, who I assume he thought would charge considerably more than the amount I was offering him.  Lucky for me, this particular artist was one of the few (maybe two?) AMAZINGLY kind artists who hadn’t charged me anything to use their  pin-ups.  I said if possible I’d like to keep the piece, and he laughed, “For that price?”  We finally decided we would speak more at San Diego, and see what his schedule was like then.  Although he said he never draws sketches or pin-ups at conventions, because it’s too hectic.  He said he sits with Mike Mignola every year.  It made me wonder how I’ve missed him.

At the con, I enjoyed visiting with him.  He’d drawn a gorgeous giant monster in his latest issue of Shaolin Cowboy, and I told him so.  He had some convention original art with the Shaolin Cowboy facing off against giant monsters, and I asked about just buying and using one of those.  He said I could do it, but then said, maybe he should draw something new, so that it’s formatted to fit the page correctly.

He said he’d like to do a pin-up, because it’s a good book.  That was real nice flattery.  But again he said it will depend on his schedule.  So we’ll see how it pans out.

VISITING WITH NEAL ADAMS

One of my friends at the Skeptic Society told me they had been contacted by Neal Adams regarding his recent geological beliefs.  I knew Neal Adams had an interest in this phenomenon, and had been producing films to share his beliefs.  I heard he debuted a film at last year’s San Diego Con, and you could access them at his website.  But I never looked into what his beliefs were.  The Skeptics Society didn’t tell me either.  They just said they tried to get a dialogue going with him, but were having trouble.

I found where Neal was sitting, but he looked busy most of the day.  I finally found a quiet time as the convention was closing on the first day.  I used as my opening the Skeptics Society.  He said he thought he remembered speaking with them, but they hadn’t really listened to what he was saying, and they’d pissed him off.  He didn’t go into detail with me as to what exactly had happened, even though I asked.  He didn’t go into much detail with what he believed either, or with what his dispute was with the Skeptics.  I asked him about how he came to begin researching this subject matter, and he said he just became curious, because he was listening to “facts” that the scientific community was claiming, but they didn’t make sense to him.  He said he started thinking about it, and one thing led to another.  He said that scientists talk about the creation of the universe, but whether it was created or just appeared, he feels that the universe must have come from somewhere, and scientists don’t address this.  I tried to defend science and scientists without being critical of his views, and I thought we had a decent (polite) discussion.

Neal got up to go, and I asked if I could take a picture with him.  He declined, because he and his family were leaving for dinner.  He said, “Is today your only day here or something?” and told me we could do it the next day.  Coincidentally, we ate where he ate for dinner that night.  I didn’t bother him.  I popped by his booth a couple times later in the week, but never found the time to snap off a shot with him.

 

TIM SALE ALREADY DID A KIRBY-STYLE GIANT MONSTER!

Our booth was located facing the lettering giants, Comicraft.  They had a ton of great artists and writers hanging out with them throughout the days, and at one point I spotted Tim Sale hanging out, doing signings.  I ran over, because I hadn’t seen him for a couple years.  He remembered me, and was impressed with my Doris Danger book, and asked if he could have a copy, and asked me to sign it.  I always think that’s so sweet when established artists do that.  They know how to make me feel like I have some value.  Simon Bisley had done the same the year before.

Tim just landed work doing the comics art for the television show, Lost.  The show has a character who’s a comics artist, so whenever the show shows this comic artist working, Tim provides the work that this actor “did.”  So Tim tells me he’s still been thinking about doing the pin-up for me, and he kept wondering if he could do a giant monster drawing or not.  And for this tv gig, he actually drew a Kirby-style giant monster, he tells me.  He digs around in his portfolio and opens up a page, and WHOOSH! here’s this gorgeous giant monster he actually drew in the Kirby style!  It was SO GORGEOUS!  I was so jealous.  I can’t believe he drew a Kirby-style giant monster for someone else!  I thought we had something!  The slut!  The two-timer!

But he kept assuring me he didn’t feel anything when he did it, so to speak, and it was just helping him to get in the right frame of mind to do a nice one for me.

Later in the week, I saw him in a hotel, going back to his room, it looked like.  I said good night, Tim, and he said, Good night, Chris, and I was proud that he actually knew my name.

I really like Tim.  He’s always really sweet to me.

FINDING THE LEGENDARY (IN MY OPINION) LUIS DOMINGUEZ

San Diego 2006

After I got out of college, I started picking up a lot of comics in back-issue bins.  This was right after the Image bubble burst, so there was always a lot of bad nineties comics.  But there were also some decent mainstream eighties comics.  Every now and then, since stores were starting to go out of business, you could find seventies comics in the cheap bins, if they were lesser, non-superhero books, that the store couldn’t sell.  If I saw old Western or War or horror comics, I would always grab them, because they were rare.  But also, I tended to really love the covers.  Especially the horror books.

Sure, Berni Wrightson was doing gorgeous covers back then.  And Michael Kaluta did plenty of gorgeous horror covers.  And Neal Adams had his share of gorgeous horror covers.  And even Joe Kubert was doing occasional spooky covers.  But there was this one artist whose images really spoke to me.  His covers were complete stories all themselves, so much so that I rarely bothered with issues they contained, and just bought the books for those covers.  You could read a whole story in one cover.  They had the ultimate portrayal of something really bad or shocking about to happen, and you had a pretty good idea what would happen next.  For example, you see a corpse stuffed in a grandfather clock in a gothic, dark mansion, and the people are saying, “I wonder why the clock has stopped ticking?”  Or you see kids climbing up into a cellar, and saying, “There’s nothing to be afraid of up here,” and unbeknownst to them, they’re climbing up into the arms of a headless ghost.  I cannot express how absolutely I love these covers.

The old Ditko and Kirby covers from Marvel had this quality, but those books had the additional advantage that their work was inside, and just as good (in my opinion) as the covers.  But then there was this one other artist, I began to realize.  And even though the insides of the books were anthologies by primarily unknown, beginning artists at that time, those covers, man…

First I began to recognize his thematic style, and then his line-work.  Scratchy, detailed, fairly realistic.  Kind of like Bruno Premiani.  And the way he drew faces, with those penetrating eyes.  My collection of these issues grew, and his cover work was immense.  He was on just about every horror comic that DC was putting out back in the seventies.  He also did Jonah Hex covers.  I didn’t recognize who this cover artist was, not by the style.  And he never signed his issues.  But then I started spotting that all these covers were signed with a subtle, inconspicuous “LD.”  If I saw a new cover that was great, and wondered if it could be my mystery artist, I would scan the image, and sure enough, somewhere, I’d eventually locate that recognizable “LD” somewhere on the page.  But who is this mysterious “LD?”

I asked my local comic shop owner, because he knows his comics, especially the older stuff.  I explained the types of covers, and the names of the books he did, and the “LD.”  He didn’t recognize the artist, or know who it was.  He looked in his catalogues and price guides, and still couldn’t find any info for me.  He even found a bunch of the very comics covers I was telling him about, with those “LD”s on them, but couldn’t say who it was.

If I had been vigilant, I probably could have found a comics fan or store owner, or someone in the industry, who knew their comics history, and could have told me who this artist is.  But then one day, by some freakish accident or twist of fate, I was flipping through the issues, and realized, “Hey!  This story looks like it was drawn by that artist!”  I feverishly flipped to the beginning of the story.  To the credits.  Luis Dominguez.  LD.  At last!  A name to go with all these amazing images!  This was maybe five years ago, or more.  And I didn’t know if he was still around, still doing comics, still appearing at conventions.

So I was absolutely stoked when I heard that Luis Dominguez would be at the San Diego con this year.  You have no idea how thrilled I was to see him listed at the Comic-Con website.

I found him almost immediately.  He was sitting in the same row as Brian Bolland and Shag.  I introduced myself and tried to get the pronunciation of his name.  I wasn’t familiar with the spelling, because it was different than “Louis”.  I asked him, “Is it loo-WEEZ?”  And said, “No.”  But he wouldn’t tell me what it was.  And he changed the subject to other matters.  He told stories about other countries.  They were entertaining, but he had an accent, and I had trouble understanding why he was sharing all these stories from all these locales.  I continued trying to learn the pronunciation of his name when he paused.  And I would say, is it, loo-WEE?  And he would say, “No,” and begin a new story.  Finally, I guessed, is it, LOO-wis? and he said “Yes.”  He really made me work for it.

He was just as friendly as can be, and enjoyed visiting.  He was absolutely up for doing a pin-up of a giant monster.  I came up later to solidify the deal, and if other people came up, he’d tell them I was his boss, and he’d let me know he wanted to get more work from me. 

He kept asking, “So you want a drawing of a giant monster?”  Yes, and I would explain my giant monster book.  He would look at the book, and say, “So you want a drawing of a giant monster?”  And I would say, Yes.  “But not a monster like this?” and pointing at a picture of Frankenstein.  And I’d say, “No, not like that.  It has to be a monster you create, so I don’t get sued when I publish it.”  And then we’d be visiting for a while, and then he’d ask, “So you want a drawing of a giant monster?”  Yes.  “But not a monster like this?” and he’d point at a picture of Dracula.  And I’d explain again.  I really enjoyed him.  Fun guy.

Luis was sitting with Arnold Drake, who wrote a ton of great silver age stuff.  I loved those Doom Patrols especially.  And he was saying he and Luis were from New York, and that Luis would be staying with him for a while.  He said that DC just gave them the okay to do a brand new Doom Patrol story.  He said it wouldn’t be the Grant Morrison-revamped team, but rather a “lost adventure” that hadn’t been documented before.  I thought that sounded like a lot of fun.

 

Kirby is my overall favorite artist, but I might just have to say that Luis Dominguez is my favorite cover artist.  Honestly, check them out.  They’re great, fun stuff!

 

 

MEETING SHAG

I strolled on down to artist alley pretty early on, because a lot of great artists were going to be hanging out there.  I was shocked to hear Shag had a table there, because I assumed he would just make a couple short, quick appearances, and be otherwise unapproachable.  Looking at his booth, he had a sign saying the times he would be available and signing.

I came back at the designated hour, and there was a line of maybe ten people, and the line was moving fast, because they were all just saying hi and buying postcards or a print and then moving on.  I handed him my comic and asked if he ever read comics.  He said a very sweet answer: “No.  But I’ll definitely read this one.”  I thought that was the greatest.  I didn’t bother to ask him about doing a pin-up, because I was too intimidated that a “high artist” whose work is in galleries in L.A., Tokyo, Paris, New York, in art books, postcards, magnets, and everywhere else in pulp culture, wouldn’t bother with low-brow comics.

Later (maybe a day later), I was just poking around in artists alley again.  I saw Shag still had a line, about the same as the one I had waited in, even though he wasn’t at his table yet.  But behind the line, all by himself, just standing around, there was Shag!  I suspected he was either just arriving, and gearing up to begin his signing, or maybe taking a quick break and stretching his legs.  But in any event, no one in the line realized he was right there behind them.

I walked up and said hello, and to my pleasure, he remembered who I was.  I asked about his education as an artist, and drawing in different styles besides the “Shag” look.  He said he had gone to school for art, and of course had taken figure drawing classes and the like, in which he of course didn’t do the “Shag” look.  And when he got out, he did design for a while.  But he said he feels lucky, because if he had to choose a style to draw, he said it would be the “Shag” style.

I told him I had to ask, because I was right there with him.  I said that my comic has a number of drawings of giant monsters by different artists, and does he ever consider doing commissions.  He said he stopped doing them a few years ago, and his reason was just fantastic…for him, anyways.  He said now that his paintings are so popular, he doesn’t need to do commissions any more.  He can just draw whatever he feels like, and he knows they will sell.  Talk about success.

I happen to know that his paintings sell out before he even finishes them.  His dealer basically takes a list of names, and I assume payments, and these people just pay up front to get on a waiting list to receive whatever painting he finishes next, without having a chance to see what the painting will even be!  They just want to own one of his works that badly!  What a successful artist!  I’m blown away…

So then I told him that I know he’s drawn a number of giant monster images in the past.  I knew he’d done plenty of tikis, and some Abominable Snowman paintings.  I asked if he might consider giving me permission to publish one of them.  He said that was a possibility and gave me his email.  I told him I would write my info on one of my little promo cards.  I had two, of the two upcoming Doris Danger comics.  I asked if he wanted outer space or war, and he said outer space, and I realized how obvious that choice was for him. 

Wow!  I just got the personal email of Shag, and I’m going to contact him to discuss publishing one of his pieces in my next comic!  I am in shock.  That would be amazing, if I can only afford him.

CONVENTION FOOT TRAFFIC AND SALES

 

Every year at San Diego, I’ve tried different locations, in the hope of finding the place that’s right for me.  This is no easy task, since I believe the convention hall is like two miles long.  The first year, we were in the cheap “bigger” tables, but it seemed like the bulk of people there were unknowns who were able to spend a little better money than the really cheap “small press” area.  The following year we decided to upgrade, by sharing a table, and I had us placed between artist alley, and what I term the “area of studly artists,” where I assumed people would be walking, to get from one of those great areas to the other.  And I assumed that since my comics contained tons of pin-ups by artists in the areas on either side of us, people would WANT to stop at my table, when they accidentally stumbled onto me during that walk.  But that didn’t work either.

 

So this year, I decided, there is an area called “The Small Press Pavilion,” and I am small press.  Rather than try to be a little fish in the big pond, where people are only interested in big fish… Rather than depend on the trickle down theory, trying to glom onto and basically eat a carcass that’s already been feasted on by the successful hunters …  rather than indulging in whatever little I could of the “sloppy seconds” of passers-by…   This year I tried yet another technique.

 

Because the convention is so large, I decided, Hey, there must be people who come to the convention who are actually there to buy indie comics.  And if they are, where are they going to go?  They’re going to go to the area that’s labeled “small press.”  But I still had my pride, and decided I would rather be in the expensive, more glamorous “small press pavilion” than that cheap, shoddy “small press” back-alley, by the bathrooms and behind the garbage cans (which I would try to great success the following year).  I wanted to show, “Even though I’m small press, I’m the BIG-SHOT small press.”  And the table cost a fortune, but this was my year.  If it didn’t work, I would be reduced to the small press next year (to great success, it turned out).  But of course I hoped the showy, glam-sparkled, expensive area would be a huge success, with that bigger, more prestigious exposure.

 

Well…We heard how busy the convention was.  When we walked through the hall, we could see how packed it was.  If we looked down the aisles on either side of us, we would see hordes of people passing by in mobs.  But then we would look down our own aisle, and it was almost always empty.  What the hell??!  We were in an all-small-press area, so you would think people would come to a convention knowing they wanted to see small-press books, and wander up and down the area, and buy stuff.  We didn’t see any of that.

 

I know I feel like I make excuses every time we don’t do very good sales, get foot traffic, whatever.  But it’s gone on long enough, and maybe I just have to acknowledge the certain, sad truth…either about myself, or about the comics industry.  If I’m unwilling to admit that it’s my work, then I can argue people go to conventions because they like certain artists, and they hunt down those particular artists, and wait in line to see them.  But I’m not one of them yet.  People don’t really seek me out, or seek my books out, because I haven’t reached that heavenly celebrity stage yet.  And even if I work pretty hard doing pitches, I only get moderate sales.

 

And of course this is minimizing, exaggerating, and focusing on one tiny aspect.  Some people at the con just want to watch anime.  Some people just want to get the exclusive Star Wars toy.  Some people actually looked for me, and told me they couldn’t find me afterward, because the con is just so damn HUGE.  And so damn overwhelming.  And there are tons of great artists all around me, small press and fan favorites, and there’s just SO MUCH.  Who can say what the secret is?  Who can say what the formula is for success?  I’m still learning and working on it.

 

A clear sign that I don’t just have a shitty book is that even Matt, the master salesman in my opinion, was not having particularly good sales at our booth.  So I ended up making about the same amount of money I make at every convention, even though this time the con was twice as many days as the usual con, and I spent three times the usual cost to be there.

 

I popped over to the small press area throughout the con, because so many of my fellow self-publishing friends and acquaintances had wound up there.  And looking at it, I thought, the con folks really made this a nice area.  It seemed to look better, and more inviting this year.  And I heard the guidelines were actually quite strict for being allowed in the area.  Talking with my friends, they all said they were actually doing great there this year.  Tons of foot traffic, tons of sales.  Could it be?

 

Lesson?  The convention is too important from a professional standpoint to stop coming, so that option is out.  The connections I make with editors and publishers, and artists, is too invaluable.  Everyone attends this con.  I have tried enough locations (three years’ worth), and none of them have been successful yet.  So from now on I will spend as little as possible on a table at this convention.  It’s one more thing to try, at least, and you never know.  Maybe that will turn out to be my magic spot, after all (and it did).

 

Every year at San Diego, I’ve tried different locations, in the hope of finding the place that’s right for me.  This is no easy task, since I believe the convention hall is like two miles long.  The first year, we were in the cheap “bigger” tables, but it seemed like the bulk of people there were unknowns who were able to spend a little better money than the really cheap “small press” area.  The following year we decided to upgrade, by sharing a table, and I had us placed between artist alley, and what I term the “area of studly artists,” where I assumed people would be walking, to get from one of those great areas to the other.  And I assumed that since my comics contained tons of pin-ups by artists in the areas on either side of us, people would WANT to stop at my table, when they accidentally stumbled onto me during that walk.  But that didn’t work either.

So this year, I decided, there is an area called “The Small Press Pavilion,” and I am small press.  Rather than try to be a little fish in the big pond, where people are only interested in big fish… Rather than depend on the trickle down theory, trying to glom onto and basically eat a carcass that’s already been feasted on by the successful hunters …  rather than indulging in whatever little I could of the “sloppy seconds” of passers-by…   This year I tried yet another technique.

Because the convention is so large, I decided, Hey, there must be people who come to the convention who are actually there to buy indie comics.  And if they are, where are they going to go?  They’re going to go to the area that’s labeled “small press.”  But I still had my pride, and decided I would rather be in the expensive, more glamorous “small press pavilion” than that cheap, shoddy “small press” back-alley, by the bathrooms and behind the garbage cans (which I would try to great success the following year).  I wanted to show, “Even though I’m small press, I’m the BIG-SHOT small press.”  And the table cost a fortune, but this was my year.  If it didn’t work, I would be reduced to the small press next year (to great success, it turned out).  But of course I hoped the showy, glam-sparkled, expensive area would be a huge success, with that bigger, more prestigious exposure.

Well…We heard how busy the convention was.  When we walked through the hall, we could see how packed it was.  If we looked down the aisles on either side of us, we would see hordes of people passing by in mobs.  But then we would look down our own aisle, and it was almost always empty.  What the hell??!  We were in an all-small-press area, so you would think people would come to a convention knowing they wanted to see small-press books, and wander up and down the area, and buy stuff.  We didn’t see any of that.

I know I feel like I make excuses every time we don’t do very good sales, get foot traffic, whatever.  But it’s gone on long enough, and maybe I just have to acknowledge the certain, sad truth…either about myself, or about the comics industry.  If I’m unwilling to admit that it’s my work, then I can argue people go to conventions because they like certain artists, and they hunt down those particular artists, and wait in line to see them.  But I’m not one of them yet.  People don’t really seek me out, or seek my books out, because I haven’t reached that heavenly celebrity stage yet.  And even if I work pretty hard doing pitches, I only get moderate sales.

And of course this is minimizing, exaggerating, and focusing on one tiny aspect.  Some people at the con just want to watch anime.  Some people just want to get the exclusive Star Wars toy.  Some people actually looked for me, and told me they couldn’t find me afterward, because the con is just so damn HUGE.  And so damn overwhelming.  And there are tons of great artists all around me, small press and fan favorites, and there’s just SO MUCH.  Who can say what the secret is?  Who can say what the formula is for success?  I’m still learning and working on it.

A clear sign that I don’t just have a shitty book is that even Matt, the master salesman in my opinion, was not having particularly good sales at our booth.  So I ended up making about the same amount of money I make at every convention, even though this time the con was twice as many days as the usual con, and I spent three times the usual cost to be there.

I popped over to the small press area throughout the con, because so many of my fellow self-publishing friends and acquaintances had wound up there.  And looking at it, I thought, the con folks really made this a nice area.  It seemed to look better, and more inviting this year.  And I heard the guidelines were actually quite strict for being allowed in the area.  Talking with my friends, they all said they were actually doing great there this year.  Tons of foot traffic, tons of sales.  Could it be?

Lesson?  The convention is too important from a professional standpoint to stop coming, so that option is out.  The connections I make with editors and publishers, and artists, is too invaluable.  Everyone attends this con.  I have tried enough locations (three years’ worth), and none of them have been successful yet.  So from now on I will spend as little as possible on a table at this convention.  It’s one more thing to try, at least, and you never know.  Maybe that will turn out to be my magic spot, after all (and it did).

SAN DIEGO COMIC-CON, July 19-23, 2006

IT BEGINS!

Elizabeth was over eight months pregnant, and we headed down by plane to San Diego, without incident. The doctor visit informed us she could pop any minute. Our friend, Matt Silady, a talented self-publisher and great salesman at conventions, would be helping us to man our table, in part since Elizabeth wouldn’t be as functional, but especially since she could potentially go into labor at any moment. We arrived early, got situated at the hotel, and I left Elizabeth there and went to the convention.

Matt met me there. We were hours early for the con. Matt and I set up the table, including my brand new, six-foot tall sign of a giant monster, boldly, unapologetically bragging about the names of all the great artists attached to my book. We were ready with plenty of time, so we poked around a bit. Matt had never been to the con, so we strolled and looked at all the crazy displays, and I showed him the areas I like to frequent – DC Comics, Darkhorse, Fantagraphics, etc., to speak with editors and try to find work, the artist alley to make connections and network, etc. We began bumping into some of our fellow self-publishing friends, setting up, and visited here and there. And before we knew it, the convention had begun, for Wednesday night’s Preview Night.

LEARNING TO BE A SALESMAN

I listened to Matt’s pitch to people, and I think what I learned most is that he has developed a couple catch-phrases that he uses each time, just as hooks to try and get people interested. Always beginning with an introduction and hand-shake. Even if people look like they’re about to walk right past, he managed to snag a few back by standing up and introducing himself. That’s enough to get them to listen through his pitch, and often he winds up selling the books as a result.

He made some suggestions to my pitch. He suggested being succinct, but including adjectives, like “creepy,” and “fun.”

I listened to how he would pitch my book a few times. It gave me ideas. Partway through the convention, he acknowledged I was doing great, and this with for the most part the same pitching techniques I’ve been using for the last couple years. Just refined, refined.

It’s funny, as I began pitching the same line each time, I realized, I would come up with a joke, and use it almost every single time, down to the same smile when I got to the same part, and the same little laugh when I told the punchline.

After awhile, we learned, if I would tell people about Matt’s book, with such descriptions as, “You should flip through Matt’s book, the art is amazing,” or “It’s a fun story, be sure to check it out,” people would take the time, if for no other reason than politeness. And once they were standing over with him, he could give his own pitch.

Because our books are quite different (His is a romantic comedy, mine is not), often if a couple came over, we would interest one of them with one of our pitches, and the other one would just be standing around but not as interested. So then, while one would look at mine and buy it, he could start a conversation with the other, and the other would look at his and buy it. It worked out well.

So be sure, next convention, to come on by the table, fans, and give yourselves the opportunity to hear all my newly-learned pitch techniques!

Note of WOOPS!

Fans!

Regarding diary entry 111…or any other entry that wasn’t on its timely weekly schedule…Silly us! Our own sleep-deprived, always-chasing-the-baby-around-the-house artistic hack, Chris Wisnia, accidentally clicked “save” instead of “publish” for last week’s informative diary entry! Or who knows? maybe his fourteeen-month-old son did, since Oscar likes to climb onto his daddy’s lap and punch at the keys, swing the mouse around, and yank the keyboard to the floor! At any rate, it should have been posted in a timely fashion a week ago, and we didn’t realize the error until today, a week late! The utmost apologies, fans! To make it up to you, we posted a BONUS ENTRY this week! That’s right, TWO ENTRIES IN ONE WEEK! This week’s, and the one you should have gotten last week! What a bonus!

Enjoy,

Rob Oder, Editor-in-Chief!

* * *

FLYING DOWN, BUT FINDING A “COURIER”

As soon as we found out we were expecting, we warned the doctor of our plan to go to San Diego while Elizabeth is eight months pregnant. We were informed by our doctor and the airline that we are safely within the window of “safe to fly,” and decided we would prefer that to the eight-plus-hour drive. That surprises many people, but on a plane, we know we will land in an hour, and be surrounded by people trained to handle emergencies. Driving, we would be in the middle of who-in-the-hell-knows-where, with no idea where or how far the nearest hospital is, and probably no idea how to get there, or have anyone to call or find to help us.

Then we learned, coincidentally, that Elizabeth had a business meeting, scheduled in San Diego the very same week! That means we could write off her flight, hotel, and a rental car! Then one of her employees mentioned he would be driving down, and offered to take a bunch of our stuff down for us, so we don’t have to lug it around the hospital, with a pregnant woman!

As I publish more and more books, I’ve increasingly dreaded traveling to conventions, because it’s getting to be too much to take. I guess it’s lucky for me I usually only sell about thirty books, because then I don’t have to take a lot with me. But now I’ve got five self-published comics, a trade paperback, and an enormous treasury edition, as well as Ojo trades, Ojo comics, a British horror anthology, t-shirts, posters. If I bring one of each size of t-shirt, thirty of each book, and ten of each trade, it’s still hundreds of pounds of stuff, and you’re only allowed fifty pounds per suitcase. How do people do it, if they don’t have a courier service from their wife’s work?

PREDICTING WHAT A SUCCESSFUL YEAR THIS WILL BE

I’ve been crossing my fingers that this year we’ll sell better than ever. Thanks to our “courier service” through Elizabeth’s work, I’ve decided to bring about twenty-five copies of each issue of Tabloia, fifty Lump trades, and a hundred fifty Doris Danger books.

All the stars are in order. We’ve got a location that I’m hoping will have lots of foot traffic from people who want to buy indie comics. I bought a $250 sign of a giant monster, to attract attention, and I brazenly listed all my pin-up artists at the very top of the sign. We’ve got Matt Silady the master salesman helping at our table, and ready to take charge if I have to rush Elizabeth to the hospital to have a baby. All the signs are in order. All the stars are lined up. Maybe I’m setting myself up for some disappointment, but you’ve got to aim high. I’m felling hopeful we’ll do all right this year at San Diego, the most difficult convention to do all right at. I’m hoping we can make back our hefty San Diego table costs. We’ll do it if we can sell a hundred twenty monster books, and don’t sell anything else. That doesn’t sound so impossible, does it, at a five day convention?

THE EIGHT-MONTH PRE-FLIGHT CHECK-UP

The week before our flight, we went to the doctor to make sure everything is still going all right. The OB/GYN examined E and said, “Oh my God! You’re two centimeters dialated, and your cervix is thinned 80%!” We reminded the Doctor of our trip. Her nervousness was fearsome. She finally said, No, you should go on your trip. It’s a big trip, and it could be you won’t have that baby until you get back. But you should be prepared, in case you have the baby in San Diego. She told us how nervous she was though. It made us nervous.

PEOPLE I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING

Many years, I look over the “featured guests” lists, and am not necessarily interested in meeting very many of them. However, I know that every year, tons and tons of great, fantastic idols of mine are somewhere at the con, if I can only figure out where to hunt them down. This year, however, I was surprised how many cool artists I got excited about seeing listed.

I sent out a spam mailer to my mailing list, and also a couple quick emails to some friends.

The bulk email stated, in dazzling, sensational Circus-ringleader fashion, that we were planning to perform a live birth at San Diego, and it got a number of replies from our friends, such as Mick Gray, all of whom said, “You’re crazy. You’re insane. See you there.” I got an email from Scott Shaw with congratulations, and confirmation he’d still like to do a pin-up. I got an email from Steven Grant, who I’m quite eager to meet, after all his kind mentions at his website. He is the only reviewer I’ve had so far who has actually generated sales.

I’m looking forward to hunting down Simon Bisley, and approaching him with a piece of paper in my hand, and flopping it down in front of him and having him just draw me a pin-up right there on the spot, now that it’s been a year since I paid him for a pin-up, and he hasn’t even bothered to reply to my emails.

I was ecstatic to see Brian Bolland listed as a guest to this year’s convention. When we met at the Bristol Con, he’d said the last convention he’d done was seven years earlier, and it had been in England, so seeing him coming to America seems like a really big deal to me. I’m looking forward to hunting him down, reminding him who I am, and seeing if he might still have interest in doing a pin-up.

I’ve emailed Brian a number of times, ever since we met in Bristol. I heard back from him once early on (this was over a year ago), and never again. At that time, he said, Sorry I’m so busy, I’ll send a proper email soon. And then nothing. So I don’t know if he’s got a new email, or if he’s not really interested in doing a pin-up, or if I’ve gotten on his nerves, and he’s put me in his spam filter, or if he’s just busy and doesn’t return a lot of emails.

John Romita Sr. and Daniel Clowes I’d also like to check in with, both of whom have hinted they may do pin-ups, but I get the vibe they probably won’t.

I’d like to try to meet Shag, but who knows what kind of mob he’ll attract, and how hard it would be to get to him. Most likely, he’ll have a couple hour-long signings in the autograph area, and not be around the rest of the time. I of course fantasize about getting a pin-up from him, but I’m just going to assume there’s no way that could happen, since there probably isn’t.

I’d like to say hi to Seth. And I heard Frank Miller will be signing, but I just assume there’s no way I could possibly get over to meet him.

I guess we’ll see if my mom’s prediction, that my horoscope says it will be the best year ever, pans out.